Medium Priority Period CH | TW | HK PTW

7.9 by 11k on douban, but the reviews showed some complains (noted in my personal notes due to them being spoilery) so I kept this here. Out of all shows in this list, this is amongst the shows I am much more likely to try.

8.0 on douban but by 3k+ watchers only and it being an old show made me skeptical about watching so I went through douban and decided to keep it med priority.

I was interested in this as I thought it is a travel adventure show featuring the journey of Zheng He to all places he's been to. It seemed so epic and so my kind. But then I discovered it is not about his journeys but what led to his travel and how he came to be the one sent. Travel scenes are very less and this is actually a political show.

I don't have an issue with politics and character journey stories at all, but with that title, Mere armaano pe pani fir diya *insert smiling face with single tear emoji*

6.3 on douban and this was an anticipated show as LMG was directing and his shows have great visuals. And surely they do not disappoint. However, this show is said to be not as great as his best works Rattan and GBMP.

5.2 douban rating usually means no but this drama has great production quality and I cannot help but want to watch, especially when mystery in historical times is a genre/theme I love

I want to really watch it because it was once known to be the most expensive cdrama and it sure does live up to it in terms of the production quality, unlike some other high budget cdramas pre 2023 that flaunted their high budget only to end up looking shoddy and cheap

THE FOLLOWING WORDS ARE GATHERED VIA READING REVIEWS AND ARE NOT MY OWN THOUGHTS. I HAVEN'T YET VERIFIED ANYTHING:
However, the story here is really questionable. The narrative tries so hard to tell you that the FL is virtuous kind and loving and also powerful but she is so a mary sue. Not just that, she ardently defends the royal class and her own clan's right to rule despite knowing the crimes these upper class committed towards the common people. The narrative tries so hard to make it feel like she is a good person yet all she actually cares about is the royal clan and her own clan, forgiving criminals (that includes indirectly forgiving and protecting rapists who committed sexual crimes against women via defending their positions). Anyone who speaks against this rotting royal class or her clan is framed the villain, even the women that were raped.

I might try this out to see if it is really this extreme, but too many people disliking this show for this reason points that this is what really happened in the show.

5.8 on douban and while it is not that low rated here, the show overall get's compared to Minglan a lot and the general consensus is that this looks like a cheap imitation of the diamond that is Minglan. Not pointing towards plagiarism but towards the fact that it is in the same vein but not reaching the same quality. While Minglan is a serious feminist drama with cultural themes and is a prestige drama, TRON is said to be more in the idol drama category with simplified everything and no feminist or cultural depictions but more of a romance.

5.7 on douban and while it's got great visuals but certain things feel off. Nothing too bad but it's the heavy filters and not so good lighting eat the contrast so outside scenes look epic but when people appear it feels flat, like light is coming from everywhere. Also, cgi is good for a cdrama but it seems like too much reliance on it also led to the unnatural lighting and lack of contrast. Another thing is filters eat away the texture too so it makes scenes and people look plasticy. Costumes are another issue, while they look good, I often saw shoddy work upon close ups and certain looks were not up to the mark.

Overall still gonna try for it's adventure theme and still better visuals and most importantly colored visuals over the previous decade's white boring visual aesthetic.

5.9 douban and this was said to be highly anticipated because it used a beloved novel from 70s(?) to base it's transmigration plot on but in the end it failed for a lot of people. I just love adventure wuxia shows and have no idea what the classic novel is about so I can give it a chance. Wished that there was an adaptation of that novel like other classics tho

watch btroc aka this before cbml

watch btroc before cbml aka this

This got a 7.8 on douban but when it first came out it was 6 point something. I fear that the rise of rating over the time is a work of fandoms. I love the actress like a lot and her later works are so good but we cannot deny that a lot of top stars have a fandom that bomb the five ratings and so do anti fans bombing the ones. Childish but happens a lot. Still douban is more credible because now it is more strict so blind fans and antifans do minimal damage, this is a case of old dramas.

Also, this show is widely discussed as one of the most inaccurate to history shows, so treat it like the characters are fiction (well lots of old idol cdramas did this so glad it's way less done now)

Another thing to note is the overall production, while being miles better than the horrible wei young and princess agents is still not up to the mark. The show uses a lot of saturation and the color grading is just not it. Costumes are wildly inaccurate too.

However, there is a chance I might like it. I like to see strong women rise.

ai eng subs have appeared recently (2025)

The CGI is terrible and breaks immersion. Overall production quality in itself is bad. While watching xianxias or xuanhuans, the production quality and cg matters a lot, especially for enhancing an average or poorly written and directed show which this has a lot of signs to be.

Will keep it in mid priority but advice myself to watch the donghua instead it is still better, way better than this

Advice to self: Go in with low expectations, this seems like another hyped show with poor writing. But since I love Song Yi, I've kept it in my list. The major complains include funny cgi transformations, nonsensical plot, mixing all kinds of plotlines together in hotch-potch, and drama not understanding what it itself wanted to be.

Another major complain: FL does not look like a general. She is filmed in a way beauties are when she makes entry, she doesn't cary that aura of general (which I strictly feel is a directors issue rather than Song Yi issue as sometimes directors greatly limit the actors, as seen in Princess Agents) and most importantly: she is never herself able to carry out her plan to succession and ML always has to appear and save her. This is not the strong FL story I signed up for man